1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to refrigerant recovery systems, and in particular to a switch assembly for connection to a refrigerant storage container to cut off the introduction of refrigerant into the storage container once a maximum level has been reached.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Refrigerant recovery systems are used to recover refrigerant from air conditioning systems such as in vehicles and in buildings. A refrigerant recovery system will prevent the release of the refrigerant into the atmosphere, which may lead to depletion of the Earth's ozone layer. Refrigerant recovery systems have an accumulator and a filter for receiving the refrigerant, separating liquids and filtering the refrigerant. A compressor will create suction to draw the refrigerant from the air conditioning system. The compressor output leads to a condenser, which condenses the refrigerant into a liquid. The liquid flows into a storage container. The refrigerant may be recycled out of the storage container and back through the filter system to further clean the refrigerant.
It is important to avoid overfilling the container. Overfilling the container may result in excessive pressure rupturing the container. This could cause leakage of the refrigerant into the atmosphere.
Switch assemblies are available for automatically disabling the compressor once the selected refrigerant level is reached. These switch assemblies include in some cases a float which locates in the storage container. As the float moves upward, linkage means will contact a relay switch to cut off the compressor. While these systems are workable, the mechanical contacting of the float assembly with the relay switch can lead to sticking and failure.